The "Banking- Concept of Education is an interesting essay by Paulo Freire that reveals to its reader a different view of the standard teacher-student relationship. Freire describes this relationship using two phrases that aren't normally used when describing education. Speaking about the first type of education Freire says: .
"Education thus becomes an act of depositing, in which the students are the depositories and the teacher is the depositor. Instead of communicating, the teacher issues communiqués and makes deposits which the students patiently receive, memorize and repeat. This is the "banking- concept of education, in which the scope of action allowed to the students extends only as far as receiving, filing and storing the deposits-(260).
This "banking- concept characterizes the student as a mechanical device which opens, closes, stores, and regurgitates. The absence of thought in the "storing- process leads to the homogenization of the student.
The second phrase Freire uses differs greatly from the "banking- concept. This "problem-posing- education involves the free-thinking and creativity of the student. The student "comes to see the world not as a static reality, but as a reality in process, in transformation- (267). The "problem-posing- education encourages the student to open their eyes and study their own existence as well as the reality in which they find themselves. .
Most education involves the repetition of facts and figures, but an education based on Freire's concept of "problem-posing- would present an interesting environment in which to learn. A course based on Freire's concept would not be held in a classroom, .
Alex Cohn.
using the word in a traditional sense. The "classroom- would be reality itself. The students would contemplate what they see, realize what it means, and apply this knowledge to a facet of their life. Everything learned would have a purpose and wouldn't be "filed- away.
